UK – UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) has awarded 17 projects a total of £3.2 million (US$3.9 million) to scale up novel solutions to plastic waste prevention and management.
The winners fall into three target areas: alternative materials producers, reuse and refill initiatives, and improved recycling and geographic mapping technologies.
Launched under the UKRI’s Smart Sustainable Plastic Packaging Challenge, the competition is dubbed Future Packaging Solutions II and seeks to advance plastic waste management critical areas through novel groups and ideas.
Paul Davidson, challenge director for UKRI’s SSPP Challenge, says: “SSPP is working to make plastic packaging fit for a sustainable future, supporting over 70 research and innovation projects focused on consumer plastic packaging.
“Taken together, these latest SSPP-funded projects offer exciting opportunities to tackle plastic packaging waste holistically by reducing it at source, encouraging the rollout of reuse and refill business models, and driving more effective and sophisticated recycling and pollution monitoring and measuring.”
Five of the awarded projects are assessing the viability of a range of different plant-based biodegradable polymers to replace fossil fuel-based plastics.
The five winners in the ‘stimulating reuse and refill’ category will explore how to stimulate more reuse and refill and reduce single-use plastic packaging in our daily grocery shopping and for food and drinks consumed ‘on the go’.
They explore different aspects of the challenge, including consumer perception and behavior, cleaning and hygiene, and logistics.
Seven project winners are in the ‘increased recycling and plastic pollution mapping’ category.
Six focus on enhancing the UK’s plastics recycling and stimulating the use of recycled plastics. The innovations being explored include new sorting and recycling technology and novel digital approaches to packaging design and ‘nudging’ consumer recycling behavior at home.
The final project will use satellite data and Artificial Intelligence to build a global plastic map to support the tracking and removal of marine plastic pollution.
The SSPP Challenge aims to make plastic packaging fit for a sustainable future. As a £60 million (US$74.07m) five-year program, it is the largest UK government investment to date in sustainable plastics research and innovation.
It reflects the urgent need for action to reduce the environmental footprint of plastics and eradicate plastic pollution.
The challenge brings together academia and the industry. It is underpinned by the delivery of the 2025 UK Plastics Pact targets.
SSPP’s ambition is to establish the UK as a leading innovator in smart and sustainable plastic packaging for consumer products to drive cleaner growth across the supply chain and dramatically reduce plastic waste entering.
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